In our society, the media greatly influences how women perceive their bodies and health. Often, this perception is negative, persuading us to change our bodies. Sometimes, however, expert advice is worth listening to. An ample number of exercise challenges and health tips exist online. From that advice, which is the best to follow to stay healthy?
On a recent episode of the “Mel Robbins podcast,” Robbins interviewed Dr. Bad wrightan orthopedic surgeon and longevity expert, who shared what she thinks is the secret to a woman’s wellness, which included 11 reps of a particularly difficult exercise.
During the podcast episodeRobbins explored what people can do, especially women, to look, feel, and stay young. Dr. Wright recommended an exercise regimen that she prescribes her own patients to stay strong and healthy as they age. It includes walking a total of three hours each week (at least four times a week), lifting heavy weights at least twice a week, and learning “to lift your own bodyweight.” Translation: Women should be able to do 11 push-ups. And, no, they can’t be done on your knees.
Robbins’ podcast stirred up a social media frenzy because of the serious nature in which she delivered her message, “If you’re not aware of the actual functional design of your body and you’re not doing some simple things that our expert is going to talk about today, you will not live a strong long and healthy life…”
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Can you do 11 push-ups? 11 strict push-ups? Not off the knees. Off the toes. It’s not the easiest exercise to master, and it has since inspired a social media challenge.
The point isn’t to show off or to shame or even to joke, however. The point is that women need to start taking their health and their strength more seriously because, in the mix of taking care of everyone else, women often neglect themselves.
“We don’t get old because we age. We get old because we stop moving,” shared Dr. Wright. She went on to detail how traumatizing her work is when she comes face to face with a patient in the hospital after breaking a hip who has no idea how she went from young and active to weak and broken. Recalling the state of women’s health actually brought her to tears.
According to a 2020 CDC report25.3% of adults are physically inactive outside of work, and one in four sit for more than eight hours a day. Basically, we are forced into a sedentary lifestyle thanks to sitting at a desk all day and being too tired in our free time to do much more than doomscroll social media.
Through her research, Dr. Wright has discovered that it’s the sedentary lifestyle that causes us to age because our bodies are designed to move. She argued that between 35 and 45 is the critical decade to establish the habit of moving because it’s the period when most of our adult life is solidified. Even if you’re in pain, Dr. Wright said, you can walk around your kitchen table, go to a pool, there’s so much you can do.
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Katie Gouldthe founder of KG Strong, told HuffPost that the idea of women doing 11 push-ups as a measure of health doesn’t exactly translate properly since it’s based on a 2019 study of male firefighters. The research concluded that men who could do 40 push-ups had a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease than men who could do fewer than 10 push-ups.
Similarly, Danielle Repetti, the founder of Iron and Mettle, told the outlet “I’ve had clients that can bench press 100, 125 pounds, and they aren’t able to do 11 push-ups on their toes, and that doesn’t mean that they’re not strong, and it doesn’t really mean anything about them as people in a body.”
Regardless, Dr. Wright believes, “You just have to make the effort,” and she’s right (no pun intended). More importantly, she is trying to motivate women to find an exercise routine that works for them. Maybe you can’t do one push-up, and you will never be able to. Maybe you can do 20. At the end of the day, if you’re trying, you’re improving your health. You’re taking the steps to ensure that a fall in your 60s or 70s isn’t going to mean facing your mortality. Remember, strong is beautiful.
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Mina Rose Morales is a writer and photojournalist with a degree in journalism. She covers a wide range of topics, including psychology, self-help, relationships, and the human experience.
